Author Archives: Aramis Ortiz

The Joneses

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After watching the film, The Joneses, I would categorize the way the Jones family lives as personal selling. The Jones family uses in-person interaction to sell products and services. They are the sales representatives and the personal connection between buyers and a company’s products and services. In the movie, the family isn’t a real family, they are marketers that influence groups of people by being the first to know about or use something. They impersonate a family and show off the nice things they have to friends and neighbors, so that these people are influenced to purchase more and more of the products.

There are several similarities between the sales tactics the Jones family employs and the marketing tactics of different brands and companies. Many brands use social media marketing to get their brands name out. This occurs all the time on social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Twitch, TikTok, etc. Like the Jones family, companies aim to create buzz, foster communities, as well as facilitate two-way communication. Brands will have social media influencers promoting their products in photos and videos they upload onto their platforms. Brands know these influencers have the power to attract a lot of consumers to buy their products. The Jones family targets people in groups as well. For example, the “father” would go golfing and meet people he could promote golf equipment to.

I think that the way products are marketed in this movie is unethical. The Jones family lies to all the people around them, making them think they are a real family. The only reason they are talking to and getting to know their friends and neighbors is so they could keep increasing in sales. They are manipulating everyone they know by building relationships with these people. Once a relationship is built, then trust is built. This is unethical because they aren’t worth anyone’s trust, the life they are living is a complete lie.

If I was friends with someone in the Jones family before finding out their secret, I would feel like I have someone I could always rely on. I would feel very appreciative of them, want to be like them and life a similar life to them. After finding out their secret, I would feel ashamed and would be hurt by their dishonesty. The fact that they were using me would bother me very much. After going through something like that, I would probably develop trust issues. It would take much more convincing for me to trust people moving forward.

Promotion

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 12/10/23

Aramis Ortiz

New York Mets

(718) 507-8499

AOrtiz@nymets.com

Mets Welcome New President of Baseball Operations

The New York Mets and David Stearns Agree to a Five-Year Deal

Flushing, NY: The New York Mets have officially announced that David Stearns will be joining the organization as President of Baseball Operations, effective March 20, 2024.

David Stearns will be joining the New York Mets from the Milwaukee Brewers organization, where he served as President of Baseball Operations from September 2015 to October 2022. Stearns will be bringing his experience in overseeing an organization and making an impact at the major league level to the New York Mets organization by implementing an approach to build and retain talent across all levels.

Additionally, David Stearns’s experiences that will benefit the organization moving forward include:

  • Being named ninth general manager in Brewers’ franchise history at the age of 30, then promoted to President of Baseball Operations on January 23, 2019
  • Worked three seasons as assistant general manager with the Houston Astros, where he was a key member of the management team, focusing on all areas of baseball operations, including analytics, administration, player development and scouting.
  • Spent one year as director of baseball operations with the Cleveland Indians, running from December 2011 through November 2012, where he focused on contract negotiations, salary analysis, team strategy and roster management.

“I know how much this team means to our fans and our community” says David Stearns. “I know I am here ultimately working for our fans, and I do not take that responsibility lightly.”

“I’m really excited by this. You know I’ve been really patient looking for the right person. As Dave and I got to know each other, I mean, you know, it’s clear that we’re aligned in our thinking, we get along very well”, says New York Mets owner, Steve Cohen. “I’m just so excited to have him on board and to bring on the next chapter in the Mets.”

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Product Concepts

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After watching season 15, episode 7 of Shark Tank and seeing all 4 different pitches, the one that resonated with me the most was the Rekkie goggles. I found these goggles very interesting and unique because of how useful they are, and they solve so many problems at once with all its features. What I loved the most about this product was the fact that even without all the technological features, they are still one of the best goggles aimed for action sports.

Rekkie goggles are a high-tech way to stay connected on the slopes when skiing. They are smart snow goggles that have a built-in heads-up display. This display projects directly onto the lens and floats out in front of your forehead, as it shows speed, elevation, a clock, number of new notifications, and a compass. All you have to do is glance up, so you can see where your friends are, how fast you are going, read your unread texts, control your music, and answer phone calls. To do all of this, you need to download the Rekkie app on your phone and create a ski group which will also give you the abilities to see friends on a map, pair goggles, as well as track stats. When you are in a group of friends on the app, it tracks the phone’s GPS location.

The gap this product fills is not having to deal with the inconvenience of trying to take out your phone when in the middle of a ski run. Very often when skiing, people get split up, lose each other, and don’t know which way someone went when getting to the bottom of the chair lift. This product solves these issues, while still being a great quality pair of goggles. Instead of just wanting it, consumers should feel like they need this product because the display doesn’t block your view, it uses state of the art lens clarity, anti-fog, and contrast boosting technology to make them great ski goggles without even turning them on. This makes the Rekkie goggles very versatile.

The price for this product is $349, which is the same general price for other ski goggles that don’t even have a display. The cost to make has gone down from $160 per unit, to $130 per unit. In the episode, they made their final deal with Mark Cuban, $300,000 for 12.5% stake. This product could be best positioned by being sold in stores specifically aimed towards the ski and snow board industry. The marketing of this product is extremely important too, as that is something that they can improve on. The simple use of social media like Instagram, TikTok, and X could impact their sales positively. I noticed that they have very little posts on social media promoting their product, I only saw a few on Instagram. The use of social media would be effective because of how much of an eye-catching product this is. The algorithm of social media apps will help get this product to reach skiers. Once skiers start to see this product going viral on apps like TikTok, more and more people that are into action sports will want to buy it. This is just one simple way they can promote the goggles. Once they reach their target audience effectively, the number of consumers will increase.

Consumer Decision Making

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I recently moved to Salt Lake City, Utah and I have been traveling around looking for things to do and places to eat. I wanted to see what the Italian cuisine here is like, so I decided to look for a restaurant in advance to take my family to. For me to find the best Italian restaurant successfully and efficiently, I had to follow the steps of the consumer decision making process.

The first step is the recognition of the problem. The problem here is that my family and I are craving Italian food. We would like to find a casual Italian restaurant where we can dine-in, has a welcoming environment, has at least a 4-star rating, has a great wine selection because my parents love their wine, and delicious, good quality food. Although we are looking for something causal, we want a restaurant that keeps the authenticity of the Italian food. The second step is the information search. I started off by entering “best Italian restaurants in Salt Lake City, Utah” into the search bar on google. I proceeded to scroll through the different websites with lists of restaurants. I decided I wanted to use websites that I have experience with when looking for somewhere to go, so I then went to yelp.com and tripadvisor.com. I clicked on several restaurants, looked at the ratings and reviews left by people that ate at those places so it would be reliable. I also made sure to pay attention to the images of the inside of the restaurants and images of the food. All these factors come into play when deciding the best place to go. The third step is the evaluation of alternatives. I looked at a few of the high rated Italian restaurants in Salt Lake City, Utah and evaluated them. After looking at ratings, reviews, photos, and the menus, I was able to cut my list down to 4 restaurants. These restaurants are:

  • Salt & Olive: 4.3 stars, welcoming environment, reasonable prices, small wine selection.
  • Matteo Ristorante: 4.6 stars, high quality/authentic, welcoming, owner and staff make you feel at home, large wine selection.
  • Sicilia Mia: 4.3 stars, nice Italian vibe, large wine selection, menu has high variety.
  • Bartolo’s: 4.3 stars, smaller menu, inside not too welcoming, high quality/ authentic, small wine selection.

After much consideration, I decided to take my family to Matteo Ristorante. I made this decision because it had the highest rating at 4.6 stars, the food looked very high quality and looked like authentic Italian food. It is also a very welcoming restaurant, as I read in multiple reviews that the owner and staff make you feel at home. Lastly, they had the best wine selection out of all the restaurants I looked at. The process of consumer decision making helped me to realize that although people have different preferences, this process can be used by anyone and will still be efficient and helpful. It is important to be aware of all aspects of a place when searching for somewhere new to go because even a small factor can have a huge impact on one’s overall liking of it. One preference that most likely made my decision different than the decision of other consumers is the large wine selection I was looking for. My family and I were very happy and satisfied with the restaurant I chose to go with, all the factors I loved about it, they also enjoyed, thanks to my successful use of the consumer decision making process.

Ethics: Planet Fitness

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For the past 2 months I have been consistently going to the gym because I wanted to get more active. I chose Planet Fitness as the gym that I would be going to, so I got a membership there. Planet Fitness, which was founded in 1992 in Dover, New Hampshire, has become one of the largest and fastest growing franchisors and operators of fitness centers in the United States. The main goal of theirs to enhance people’s lives by providing an affordable, high quality fitness experience in a welcoming, non-intimidating environment. This organization is taking action with regard to corporate social responsibility, as they pursue sustainable business practices.

Providing access to fitness in underserved communities continues to be their biggest opportunity to drive health equity.  Research shows that lower-income communities experience a disproportionate rate of adverse health impacts such as heart conditions, obesity, and behavioral risk factors. With approximately 20% of their clubs located in areas of the U.S. with low income, they are committed to providing a more affordable and high-quality way to improve the physical and mental health, and overall wellbeing, of those who need it most. For more than 20 years, Planet Fitness has kept the price of the basic membership at $10 per month, consistently offering a low point of entry for the 80% of the U.S. population that doesn’t belong to a gym.

The Judgement Free Generation is Planet Fitness’ signature initiative to promote kindness and acceptance among today’s youth in partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America. It provides youth with access to the opportunities and tools needed to reach their potential and advance their social, emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing. Planet Fitness launched the Judgement Free Generation scholarship program in 2017 to recognize and reward youth who are actively promoting kindness and inclusion in their communities. Since then, they have reached 180 youth with scholarships worth $5,000 each, helping to ease the financial burden of secondary education. Planet Fitness has constructed customized versions of the Judgement Free Zones for Boys & Girls Clubs across the country that meet youth where they are and provide access to safe, welcoming spaces where they can start to build healthy habits through fitness. Planet Fitness has focused their funding on supporting trauma-informed care training for staff, a 6-month, evidence-based training that equips staff to better understand the impacts trauma can have on teens’ own wellbeing as well as their relationships and interactions with others. To help extend judgement free culture, they empower local Boys & Girls Clubs to spread kindness within their own communities through Community Kindness Grants, which fund local service projects, created and executed by local youth. Planet Fitness employs strict safety protocols to safeguard team members and members while in the clubs. They uphold their standards through mandatory team member trainings on Planet Fitness University, their online training program. Health and safety requirements have been included in their Code of Ethics.

Reducing environmental footprint is vital to the business. Their strategy is led by cross-functional environmental working groups consisting of team members from their operations, construction, facilities, vendor management and corporate responsibility teams, with oversight from senior leadership. Within the operations, their biggest opportunities for reducing impact are through resource efficiency, including water and energy, as well as responsible waste management and recycling measures. Each year, they work with outside consultants to measure and report energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, water usage and waste across corporate headquarters and corporate clubs.

Practices that I would recommend for Planet Fitness to pursue are using their social media accounts and local advertising, so customers can see all the initiatives that the gym has taken to better the environment. This can help attract more members because you are being transparent about your efforts, which can build trust. It is important to build a strong relationship with customers.

 

 

Aramis Ortiz

I am 20 years old and live in Queens, NY. I am a non degree student, but I plan on pursuing a sport management degree at SUNY Cortland in the near future. I enjoy playing and watching sports like basketball, baseball, and football. I am also into music and fashion.

 

My BMCC email is: aramis.ortiz47@stu.bmcc.cunt.edu